Aftermath
by pinksnowboots
Summary: My take on various characters' reactions to the events of the Soul Society arc. Variety of characters, pairings, and genres. Mostly canon compliant, but maybe a little off. Beginnings of IchiRuki, ShuuZuru, ByaRen, IkkaYumi.
1. Ichigo & Rukia

Hello everyone. I really shouldn't keep writing Bleach stuff, because it really is one of the least responsive fandoms I've written for thus far. But I can't help myself. I just watched the ending of the Soul Society Arc, and I can't get it out of my head. I kept wondering about how everybody would cope with such a change. This was originally supposed to be a oneshot, with one or two paragraphs for each character or pair, but I started writing about Ichigo and Rukia, and well, this happened. I'm going to post this to start, and add on my thoughts on other, more minor characters. This will be canon compliant with all the events up to the end of the Soul Society Arc, and I'll do my best to keep it fairly reasonable after that. However, it will deviate from canon because I'm imagining what the characters' thoughts were about things, and I'm also going to explore pairings which are either only alluded to or just not canonically present. Yes, that means shonen-ai pairings. But I'm going to try to keep it realistic and as in character as possible.

Rating: T. It's my default because I always end up cursing here and there.

Characters/Pairings: Beginnings of IchiRuki in this one. They're not together yet, because they still don't know each other super well, but the feelings are starting to be there. Other pairings will be decided as I go along, although my next ones will probably be ByaRen, ShunUki, and IkkaYumi.

Genre: Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship. A little mix of everything, because people's emotions are so complex.

Disclaimer: Please consider this disclaimed.

Please enjoy, and please review if you like it, or else I'll have to start pulling review whore stunts, and I really don't enjoy doing those.

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><p>It was surprising how quickly things were able to go back to normal, yet at the same time, how vastly different they were. Soul Society continued to function, but three captains were gone and in their place, five ryoka remained as visitors. Although a vast plot had just been revealed, the thought was not hanging over their heads. It was instead lurking at the back of their minds. Everyone knew the conflict was not even close to over yet, but just beginning. However, the overwhelming relief of having survived one of the largest crises in Sereitei's history was what filled the atmosphere, and everyone coped with the strange mixture of relief and apprehension in their own ways. Like the Sereitei, the shinigami involved looked basically intact, but they had been changed, irreversibly. The sogyoku no longer stood bloody guard over Soul Society, and buildings everywhere were shattered from a myriad of shikais and bankais. The shinigami and ryoka also took damage to their infrastructure. The experience destroyed their views from the time before, and the sudden new shifts in feelings scared them. So everyone carried on in a facsimile of normalcy, all the while trying to cope in the ways they best knew how.<p>

...

For Ichigo, it was all too much. Since the day he had met Rukia, his world had been shattered. Ever since then, he learned new things every minute of every day, and one of the most important lessons was to just keep going. If he refused to stop, no matter what strange new experience assailed him, they could not stop him. Not the initial shock of learning about shinigami, nor the ghastly appearance of hollows, nor the pain of fighting and losing to others like Rukia. He did not hesitate at Urahara's deadly training, or at the journey into Soul Society which seriously lacked planning. He powered through being shot through a cannonball and fighting his way up the ranks of the Gotei 13. He refused to die, over and over again, despite the fact that he was mortally wounded again and again. Achieving in three days what most shinigami took years to do was something he took in stride, and he was even able to power through the rescue of Rukia from the Sogyoku, the fight with Byakuya, and the confrontation with Aizen. Ichigo was not a genius, and indeed, his durability came from his extreme lack of foresight. If he decided that he would get through, he would. It was as simple as that, and the approach left no time to stop and reflect on what was happening.

When the dust cleared and he was healed, it all hit him. Shinigami, hollows, the sogyoku, Aizen, and the sheer impossibility of what he had just done. It was like waking from a particularly outlandish dream and realizing that it was all true. The information was too much for him to handle, so he kept busy. He fought Ikkaku, because fighting was one of the only things he was sure of. And Rukia. No matter how much everything else overwhelmed him, his intense dedication to Rukia was something he never questioned. Not once did he regret meeting her, or turning his life upside down to help her, or risking his life and the lives of others to save her. It wasn't even a question; it was the only thing he was sure of with the utmost certainty. His name meant protection, and without a doubt it was Rukia that he had to protect.

When she said that she was staying in Soul Society, he wasn't really shocked. She fit here like she never did in the human world, with her brother and the rest of the Gotei 13. And his place was with his family. More than being sad, he felt at loose ends. The past days, which now felt like years, had been filled with the intense motivation of rescuing Rukia. Now she no longer needed rescuing, and he didn't know what to do. His actions were filled with the loss of her, but it wasn't a loss that he could fill, this time. She didn't need saving because she was happy. He had saved her, but he still lost her. The fact that this bothered him really annoyed Ichigo. He felt like he was acting like one of the sappy losers in a romance novel, not that he ever had read any. He didn't understand his feelings for Rukia, or the way she simply had become one of the largest parts of his life. And it was terrifying, really. So Ichigo applied his singular determination to his human life. He went to school, and then went to train in the Urahara Shoten, because it gave him some connection to her world, Rukia's world. This was where their worlds' intersected, and he was sure that if he lingered long enough, they would open up a path once more.

...

Rukia was mentally overwhelmed. She had spent weeks in isolation, with nothing for company but thoughts of her own death and the deaths of the people she held dear. It was one of the most frustrating feelings, to know that someone was constantly risking his life, over and over again, for her, and there was nothing she could do to stop him. And there was no question: if she could have stopped him, she would have. Having only seen Ichigo with her borrowed power, the idea of him taking on the Soul Society was absurd, and could only lead to his death in addition to hers. In Rukia's eyes, she had taken his life away by destroying his normalcy, and now she was in danger of taking his life away by causing him to lose it by fighting for a lost cause: her survival.

No one could imagine how excruciating it was to be in that tower. Ichigo, at least, was fighting. He was moving, and even if he wasn't necessarily moving forward, at least he was going somewhere. While she was stuck in place, only able to pace among the vast confines of her cell, wondering whether each second would be his last. She worried about Renji, about Byakuya, about Ishida and Orihime and Chad. But mostly she worried about Ichigo. Rukia would have said that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if he died for her, but in the situation, it wouldn't matter. If he died, then it was sure that she would as well. This was no consolation.

The reason she resented his interference most was the mixed feelings it had brought. She wished with all her heart that he was safely in the human world, without any memory of her, but at the same time, her heart cried out how happy it was to finally have someone who cared so much that he would fight for her, die for her. And these two pieces of her heart fought, selfishness versus selflessness, until she realized that they both had an equal presence. Eventually, she would resign herself to the fact that it didn't matter what she felt or what she did, because he was here, and if her sinful heart was a little glad for the fact, then so be it.

After it was over, she only felt numb. When she had been rescued from the beak of the sogyoku, all she registered was disbelief and anger. Disbelief because she had no longer dared to hope, and anger that after she had carefully eradicated all traces of foolish hope, he was there _again_ to rekindle them. She couldn't bring herself to believe that he could save her, and yet she couldn't help the way that the traces of hope rose within her when she saw him floating before her, his sword taking the full force of the fiery form of the sogyoku as he looked at her with the utmost confidence in his eyes. It made her furious. How dare he come to rescue her now, after all the times she had tried, through word and deed, to keep him from the death that would come from challenging everything that was sacred to Sereitei. And how dare he make her so happy to see his stupid grin below that ridiculous hair.

But then he and Renji took her away, and Aizen spirited her back and painlessly removed something that he was perfectly willing to kill her for. Then it was over. Ichigo was hurt, Renji was hurt, Byakuya was hurt, and she was unharmed. There was guilt, and shock, and disbelief, and then denial. As they recovered, she wandered the Sereitei trying to rationalize what had just happened and why it had possibly had to happen to her. She tried to make peace with her demons, and found that they were just as fierce as the opponents Ichigo had fought for her with Zangetsu. She wrestled with where to go now, and what to do. Her thoughts were filled with Ichigo, with the idiotic and marvelous human who turned into a hollow and then a shinigami, who challenged Soul Society and survived, and who did it all for her sake while insisting that it was no big deal. Rukia wanted to be near him, to thank him, and to figure out why there was a bond that inspired them to defy all rules and logic to help each other.

But she had to stay. As much as she wanted nothing more than to go to Ichigo's house, Ichigo's world, which she considered more home than the cold Kuchiki mansion, Byakuya needed her, and Byakuya was as much her home as Ichigo was. Rukia was Byakuya's last remnant of his wife, _her__sister_, and they were tied together through this mysterious and beautiful memory of Kuchiki Hisana. Byakuya had shattered one of the vows that he lived his life by to save her, and the least she could do was stay and learn about why he chose to save her, and why he choose not to earlier. They needed each other, and for not, her strange connection with Ichigo would have to wait.


	2. Shuuhei & Kira

It was probably the hardest for Kira and Shuuhei. At least Hinamori was unconscious, so she had a little more respite from the fresh hell her thoughts were sure to bring her. All three lieutenants had been betrayed, each in ways that were specially tailored to hurt them the most, and the sudden loss of their guides and superiors left them all adrift.

Kira was left with guilt. Gin had made him draw arms against his comrades, and drawn him into a plot which he knew nothing of. He drew his zanpakuto against Matsumoto and Hinamori, and after all that, Gin had still left him behind, without a word of explanation or farewell. Kira felt used and abandoned, and he wandered like a specter around the 3rd Division, keeping up basic duties without really being mentally present. He couldn't justify the things he did for his captain, and yet, he could not bring himself to say that he should have abandoned Gin, for the bond between captain and lieutenant, once forged, is not easily broken.

Shuuhei knew that well. Tosen had been his teacher and role model for years, and to have him leave without a word hurt immensely. He considered raising his zanpakuto to restrain his captain one of the hardest things he had ever done. He felt conflicted, and guilty, though for different reasons than Kira. He had not chosen to defend his captain in the end, and that made him question what he did wrong. Did Tosen sense that this would be Shuuhei's choice-duty over personal loyalty-and choose not to confide in him? Or was the plan simply something that did not include his lieutenant? Or-and this possibility hurt Shuuhei worst of all-was he simply that insignificant to Tosen that he had not even figured into the man's calculations? Shuuhei was confused and disillusioned. His sense of duty and justice had been nurtured by Tosen, as had his strength of character and skills in combat. And yet, the man who had helped train him to become the shinigami he was had simply left. Shuuhei tried to abandon the man in return, eject him from his fond memories, but the task was simply too monumental. As much as he tried to paint his captain as a villain, the kind words and strong sense of justice kept shining through. Everything in the 9th Division seemed to sing Tosen's virtues, and, in effect, point out Shuuhei's failings. He threw himself into keeping the Squad running, working himself to the bone because that's all he could manage to do.

Kira and Shuuhei automatically gravitated to each other. They had been friends since their battle with a huge hollow in the academy, and were fairly close friends in the Gotei 13, although their time was mostly consumed by the duties of a lieutenant. Just as a harrowing situation had first brought them together, and yet another harrowing situation drew them back together, closer than ever before. Kira crept away from the 3rd Division at night, to sit with Shuuhei and cry over a bottle of sake. Shuuhei was the only person to ever see Kira cry, and he did not judge the other man for it. Instead, he simply moved over and held him, in a way that was completely meant for comfort rather than anything romantic or sexual. Then Shuuhei would remember Tosen's kindness to him when he was worried, and he too would start to weep. The two men remained on the floor of Shuuhei's room, clinging to each other like a lifeline, because really they were all that was left.

The deepening of their relationship could also be attributed to the defection of their captains. Kira's room reeked of Gin, and all of Shuuhei's possession held echoes of Tosen. Kira had been slightly uneasy around his captain, but his loyalty had been absolute, and the betrayal was raw. Hisagi had considered Tosen something of a father figure with the level of closeness they had with one another, but Tosen's defection left him questioning the nature of their relationship. Alone, each man became trapped in their thoughts and regrets, and sleep seemed to evade them. They began to have dinner together in Shuuhei's room, and talk about the few things which skirted the subject of their captains, until they would part ways for a night of restful sleep. The change came quietly. Hisagi began to talk about things that mattered, like why Kira always had dark circles under his eyes. One night when Kira stood to leave, Hisagi just pulled him away from the door. No words were exchanged, but they spent the night in a kind of tentative rest which came from the feeling of another body. Shuuhei's arms grounded Kira and forced him not to fade away, while having someone to hold on to and take care of helped Hisagi chase away the memories of how Tosen cared for him. They found that touching reduced the sting of betrayal, and kissing made their minds go blank. Sharing a bed, bare skin pressed up against each other, helped ease in real sleep. The relationship was not prompted by romance, but by pure, unadulterated, need. Need for comfort, for companionship, a need to protect and be protected, to be cared for, and a need to forget. They were each other's outlet, and together they pulled themselves out of the pit that had sprung up with the defection pulled the ground out from under them.

Eventually, life started to move again. No longer frozen by guilt or regret, the men took on the task of leading divisions left headless. They made it their task to help Hinamori return to life as they had, although she still looked like a walking ghost. They pulled their lives back together as a pair, and the thought of separating now that the urgent need was passed never crossed either man's mind. Kira still spent his nights in Shuuhei's bed, and the feel of his arms kept him whole. Eventually they realized that when they kissed, it was for the sheer enjoyment of the thing, not just to chase away the memories. When they touched, it was pleasant in of itself, because they no longer needed constant comforting. Little by little, they ceased to need each other, and eventually the pair became conscious of the fact that they were no longer so utterly codependent. And they then came to the conclusion that since they no longer _needed_ to be together, then they must want to be.


	3. Byakuya & Renji

Third set in the series-Byakuya and Renji. Not a pairing yet, but definitely the beginnings of one. This is more of an exploration of how their relationship developed pre-romance. So I guess this is pre-slash.

Rating: There's really nothing to raise the rating, except references to violence

Disclaimer: You know the drill

Plug for Reviews: Honestly, I've accepted that I'm doing this for my own twisted satisfaction, as for some reason I am incapable of getting reviews on my Bleach fics, especially this one. So really, review, or don't review. I'll survive either way.

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><p>Byakuya was a man of strong convictions. Very few people had been able to make him alter his own opinion on an issue. To date, the only people, who had managed the feat were his late wife Hisana, her sister Rukia, Kurosaki Ichigo, and his own lieutenant, Abarai Renji. Of those, the disturbances caused by Renji bothered him the most. The man had a knack for not only changing his viewpoint, but completely shattering it, and with it, completely altering the way that Byakuya viewed both Renji and himself. The first time it happened was at the academy, when he found Rukia. He had heard that Rukia was friends with some mutt from Rukongai, and immediately had turned his nose up at the idea. His first view of Renji didn't do much to change that. Renji looked brash and uncouth, but the affection he held for his sister was obvious. As he took the time to discreetly watch Rukia study at the Shino Academy, he began to notice things about this Abarai Renji as well. He discovered he was talented at fighting, horrible at kido, very crude and often rude, but fiercely protective of Rukia. Although he teased her about anything and everything, it was apparent that he watched out for her even while dealing with his own studies. It shamed Byakuya, to see that his Rukongai street rat was acting as a better brother to Rukia than he himself was.<p>

After Rukia and Renji joined the Gotei 13, Byakuya was given many more opportunities to watch the two. While Rukia thrived under the guidance of Ukitake and Kaien, Renji reveled in his new position on Squad Five. He practiced with an almost manic intensity, and quickly moved up the ranks, earning a reputation as a fierce fighter who sparred with members of the 11th Division to train. Byakuya, who was still slightly resentful of this man who played such a large role in Rukia's life, used this information to construct an unflattering view of the young shinigami. He reasoned that Renji must be a brute who relied on force rather than wits, and spurned logic and propriety. This carefully constructed view was shaken when Renji showed up on the doorstep of the Kuchiki Mansion one morning asking for Rukia. When Byakuya inquired as to why, Renji sheepishly replied that they were planning on visiting the graves of their childhood friends from Rukongai. He explained that it was something they did every year, to pay tribute to those who were not as lucky as he and Rukia had been. Byakuya was struck by the unexpected similarities between himself and this man. He himself knew what it was like to pay constant tribute to a lost loved one, and on a spur of the moment instinct, showed Renji his shrine to Hisana while they waited for Rukia to return from the 12th Division. Renji showed such tact and respect that Byakuya found it impossible to view him simply as a Rukongai dog anymore. After Renji and Rukia departed, he talked to Hisana's shrine for an hour about this boy, this man, who reminded him so much of himself despite being so utterly different. The next day, he requested that Abarai Renji become his lieutenant.

Working in close capacity with Renji showed Byakuya that they were not, in fact, similar. They both loved Rukia like a sister and both paid tribute to lost loved ones, but the similarities ended there. Renji preferred fighting to kido, and drinking to paperwork, while Byakuya enjoyed the elegance of kido and calligraphy. They often clashed when they first started working together, but eventually developed a working relationship and routine which suited them fairly well. Byakuya had just gotten used to seeing Renji as his lieutenant: noisy and disorganized, but ultimately effective and dependable, when the ryoka invasion started. Renji was defeated by Ichigo for a second time, but this time Byakuya was not there to save him. The 6th Division captain hid his guilt behind a mask of indifference and condemnation. While he struggled with his decision to follow the law and let his sister, now the most important person in his life, die, he let thoughts of Renji drift to the back of his mind. Until Renji challenged him. Challenged him, and for a moment, almost defeated him, both physically and mentally. Yet again, Renji was willing to do what he could not, and Byakuya was shamed at how he was behaving towards his sister. Conflicted between two vows with his decision challenged by his henceforth fiercely obedient subordinate, Byakuya lashed out, leaving Renji in a bloody heap. Looking at the man who worked with him every day, he threw his scarf down and turned away. Although he was the victor, Renji was indeed the stronger man.

And now. In his room in the 4th Division Recovery Center, Abarai Renji had been keeping guard over his bedside. Unohana informed him that Renji had come as soon as he was recovered, and had stayed ever since. Injured physically and broken mentally, Byakuya asked Renji why he stayed, why he didn't wish for Byakuya's death, as Byakuya had nearly caused his. Renji spouted some nonsense about wanting to surpass him, but the undercurrent of forgiveness and care shocked Byakuya as he once again realized the depths of this man's ability to forgive. As he started to say something else, Ichigo burst in, disrupting what promised to be a "heartwarming" moment, as Renji put it. After Ichigo left, the two men sat discussing trivial matters, subtly letting each other know that the bond they both thought they had broken was still there, waiting to grow stronger. And throughout it all, they could hear the subtle whispers of apologies and acceptance.

…

As cliché as it sounded, ever since he first laid eyes on the man, Renji was hooked. It wasn't love at first sight, or anything close. He was immediately stricken with jealousy and resentment towards this man who waltzed into Rukia's life claiming to be her brother, and he directed most of his energy for the next while into competing with Byakuya, although the noble himself was unaware of this competition. At first it was the competition for Rukia. Renji needed to prove to himself and, in some way, to Byakuya, that he had been more of a brother to Rukia than the noble ever had been. This expanded into his desire to prove that nobles were really no better-as family, as fighters, as leaders-than "street rats" from Rukongai. Something about Byakuya's constant appearance of tranquility angered Renji, and he strove to either crack the façade or somehow prove it fake. While he never voiced his goal, it was the unspoken reason why he worked just a bit harder, sparred just a bit more, trained just a bit longer than the other young shinigami in the Gotei 13. Ironically, it was probably his strange desire to bring Byakuya down a notch which prompted Byakuya to request him as a lieutenant.

As Byakuya's lieutenant, Renji found it harder to continue his internal struggle against the noble. All the grievances he had built up seemed to find no ground. Byakuya was a kind, if stern leader and a caring brother to Rukia, if a bit distant. Byakuya's crimes against humanity seemed to vanish, and in their place came all that was left-his crimes against Renji. Renji resented how his captain seemed to treat him like a loyal dog, a servant, or a piece of furniture (he choose not to focus on the times the man treated him as an equal). He hardly ever looked at Renji directly, so much that it seemed like it had to be intentional, and he often made dry comments about Renji's hair, his background, his fighting skill, his attire. It frustrated Renji how Byakuya seemed to know so much about him while paying so little attention. But his offences were admittedly petty, and Renji couldn't work up any real malice towards his captain until Rukia's sentencing.

When Byakuya acted so coldly towards the subject of his sister's execution, Renji snapped. Rukia was his closest friend and only family, and to have her "real" family member stand by and watch her be executed was not something he would stand for. Byakuya's faults became even more pronounced during that time-he showed no emotions, he looked down on Renji, he was distant and disconnected. And when he had Renji put in Squad 10's cells without even a glance at his injured lieutenant, something in Renji broke. Normally, Byakuya was strange and frustrating, but bearable. _This_ was unacceptable. All his annoyance, all his fascination with Byakuya was based on some weird sense of respect, and at that moment, he was not behaving in a manner which was worthy of the respect of even a dog from Rukongai.

After the fight, Renji actually felt better. Yes, he had been beaten, almost killed. Yes, he had been put down, ridiculed, cut physically and emotionally by this man who played such a central role in his life. But in a way, it felt good. Byakuya had _acknowledged_ that Renji was powerful, that he had achieved Bankai-a feat which eluded most lieutenants and even one captain. His sharp comments about class, and the dog and the moon showed, in some twisted way, that Renji had made an impact. He was important enough to put down, strong enough to cut down. Byakuya's retaliation had shown that he recognized that Renji was worth something, and that was what he had been searching for the whole time.

Perhaps that was why he stayed by his captain's bedside until the man woke up. Maybe that was why he felt the need to assure Byakuya that he did not wish him dead. Maybe that was what prompted the beginning of the "Taicho, I…" statement which was interrupted by Ichigo before it could grow profound, and perhaps that was a good thing. Renji honestly wasn't sure what he was about to say to Byakuya, but he knew that it felt _Important_. But if it really was important, it could wait until he figured out how to voice it. What he did find was that in that fight, his goal had changed. He no longer wanted to tear down the wall that was Kuchiki Byakuya, and instead wanted to unearth the man who had adopted Rukia, the man who had chosen Renji as his fukutaicho, the man who considered some orphan from Rukongai worthy of the use of his bankai, and of the scarf which he always seemed to wear. Byakuya had suddenly, (or perhaps the change was gradual and he never noticed) ceased being an opponent or an obstacle to remove, but a mystery, a puzzle that he wanted to solve for its own sake.


	4. Ikkaku & Yumichika

Finally off ff ban! This is something which I started writing a long time ago and never finished until now, when I was writing because I couldn't publish and needed something to do. It's pretty short, but these are just drabble-ish things anyway, so I hope you enjoy it! If so, please leave a review-reviews keep the ANs short!

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><p>For some, the ryoka invasion had not been so worldshaking. Ikkaku and Yumichika were two of the lucky ones. Sure, they were shocked at the defection of three captains, and yes, they had both been injured and defeated, but they were still standing, still stable. Their place was clear-with Zaraki and Yachiru, with the 11th Division, and with each other. Ikkaku trained, Yumichika primped, and they appeared unblemished by the experiences that had set Sereitei upon its head.<p>

However, the looming threat of Aizen's defection with Gin and Tosen left a mark, even if it was slight. It affected everyone, even Ikkaku and Yumichika. Ikkaku trained just a little bit harder, with a determination that showed that he was training for real fights, not just pointless spars with Zaraki. Yumichika spent extra time on trivial matters, and began to slip away at times with his zanpakuto to train where no one could see. And at night, they held each other just a tiny bit tighter to ward off the uncertainty of the future.

You see, they were happy. Unlike the people who had a stake in this world saving stuff, Ikkaku and Yumichika would have been perfectly content to leave Aizen be and carry on. They had no personal stake in his defeat, and really only cared inasmuch as his plot threatened their peaceful existence in Sereitei. Their quiet mornings in Ikkaku's room before Yachiru came to jump on the beds and ask why they were sleeping together. Ikkaku's fights with Zaraki, and Yumichika's grudging willingness to shunpo a bleeding Ikkaku back to Squad 4, complaining all the time about what the blood did to his clothes and hair. The rare occasion where Ikkaku and Yumichika sparred with each other in hand to hand combat, strength against speed, until they collapsed from exhaustion and argued over who was the true winner. The small comfort of Yumichika carefully applying the only adornment Ikkaku allowed-his red eye makeup.

But the invasion of Ichigo and his friends had been jarring, and the primary reason was not even Aizen's treachery. The fact remained that both Ikkaku and Yumichika had been beaten and almost killed, by enemies who rightfully they should've easily overpowered. Yes, Ichigo may be a prodigy, but he's also a kid with a borrowed zanpakuto. And Ganju really was a joke, should've been a joke, but Yumichika's refusal to release his zanpakuto and his habit of toying with enemies opened him up to defeat. That face, the fact of their defeat, was terrifying, for professional and personal reasons. If they, who were undoubtedly equal in strength to most fukutaichous, could be defeated by ryoka, then how would Soul Society as a whole fare against three captain-level traitors who were surely raising an army somewhere? But as troubling as that thought was, it was the reality of the fact that one of them could be defeated and killed. And based on the 11th Division's rules of honor, there would be nothing the other could do about it but watch his lover die, for weakness and shame were fates worth than death to a proud man, and both were extremely proud men. So proud that they could not voice their fears, even to each other, and so conveyed it by thought and touch as the days before the inevitable clash slipped away.


End file.
